September 20, 2020; WSAV (Savannah, GA)
Starting tomorrow, September 22, 2020, Foot Locker will use floor space in each of its 2,000 stores to allow customers, many of whom are young, to register to vote.
The effort, done in collaboration with the nonprofit Rock the Vote, will take place in all Foot Locker locations, including Kids Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Champs Sports, and FootAction. It’s specifically meant to attract young people. Some of the normal spots where young people might have congregated have been eliminated due to the pandemic, so the outreach is geared to those aged 18 to 24.
Voter registration among those in this age category is already on the rise. In Minnesota it has risen 12 percent, and that is on the low side. Those numbers have risen 15 percent in California, 28 percent in Georgia, 26 percent in New Jersey, 23 percent in New Mexico, and 32 percent in Vermont.
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Still, it’s one thing to register; it’s another to actually vote. But an August survey of young voters in the country’s 13 battleground states said 77 percent “definitely” plan to vote in the November elections. In July, that number was 70 percent. As for who that would advantage, the charts below make it clear that, as of August, gender and race were major variables in what a big youth turnout would mean at the presidential ballot box.
—Ruth McCambridge
